CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE HARE, THE LYNX, AND THE GOLDEN EAGLE.
"Frank," began he, "has called his 'a bird adventure.' I might give minesomewhat of the same title, for there was a bird mixed up with it--thenoblest of all birds--the eagle. But you shall hear it.
"On leaving the camp, I went, as you all know, up the valley. Aftertravelling for a quarter of a mile or so, I came upon a wide openbottom, where there were some scattered willows and clumps of dwarfbirch-trees. As Luce had told me that such are the favourite food of theAmerican hare, or, as we call it in Louisiana, 'rabbit,' I looked outfor the sign of one, and, sure enough, I soon came upon a track, which Iknew to be that of 'puss.' It was fresh enough, and I followed it. Itkept me meandering about for a long while, till at last I saw that ittook a straight course for some thick brushwood, with two or three lowbirches growing out of it.
"As I made sure of finding the game there, I crept forward very quietly,holding Marengo in the leash. But the hare was not in the brush; and,after tramping all through it, I again noticed the track where she hadgone out on the opposite side. I was about starting forth to follow it,when all at once an odd-looking creature made its appearance rightbefore me. It was that fellow there!" And Basil pointed to the lynx. "Ithought at first sight," continued he, "it was our Louisiana wild cat orbay lynx, as Luce calls it, for it is very like our cat; but I saw itwas nearly twice as big, and more greyish in the fur. Well, when I firstsighted the creature, it was about an hundred yards off.
"It hadn't seen me, though, for it was not running away, but skulkingalong slowly--nearly crosswise to the course of the hare's track--andlooking in a different direction to that in which I was. I was wellscreened behind the bushes, and that, no doubt, prevented it fromnoticing me. At first I thought of running forward, and setting Marengoafter it. Then I determined on staying where I was, and watching it awhile. Perhaps it may come to a stop, reflected I, and let me creepwithin shot. I remained, therefore, crouching among the bushes, and keptthe dog at my feet.
"As I continued to watch the cat, I saw that, instead of following astraight line, it was moving in a circle!
"The diameter of this circle was not over an hundred yards; and in avery short while the animal had got once round the circumference, andcame back to where I had first seen it. It did not stop there, butcontinued on, though not in its old tracks. It still walked in a circle,but a much smaller one than before. Both, however, had a common centre;and, as I noticed that the animal kept its eyes constantly turnedtowards the centre, I felt satisfied that in that place would be foundthe cause of its strange manoeuvring. I looked to the centre. At first Icould see nothing--at least nothing that might be supposed to attractthe cat. There was a very small bush of willows, but they were thin. Icould see distinctly through them, and there was no creature there,either in the bush or around it. The snow lay white up to the roots ofthe willows, and I thought that a mouse could hardly have found shelteramong them, without my seeing it from where I stood.
"Still I could not explain the odd actions of the lynx, upon any otherprinciple than that it was in the pursuit of game; and I looked again,and carefully examined every inch of the ground as my eyes passed overit. This time I discovered what the animal was after. Close into thewillows appeared two little parallel streaks of a dark colour, justrising above the surface of the snow. I should not have noticed them hadthere not been two of them, and these slanting in the same direction.They had caught my eyes before, but I had taken them for the points ofbroken willows. I now saw that they were the ears of some animal, and Ithought that once or twice they moved slightly while I was regardingthem.
"After looking at them steadily for a time, I made out the shape of alittle head underneath. It was white, but there was a round dark spot inthe middle, which I knew to be an eye. There was no body to be seen.That was under the snow, but it was plain enough that what I saw was thehead of a hare. At first I supposed it to be a Polar hare--such as wehad just killed--but the tracks I had followed were not those of thePolar hare. Then I remembered that the 'rabbit' of the United Statesalso turns white in the winter of the Northern regions. This, then, mustbe the American rabbit, thought I.
"Of course my reflections did not occupy all the time I have taken indescribing them. Only a moment or so. All the while the lynx was movinground and round the circle, but still getting nearer to the hare thatappeared eagerly to watch it. I remembered how Norman had manoeuvred toget within shot of the Polar hare; and I now saw the very same _ruse_being practised by a dumb creature, that is supposed to have no otherguide than instinct. But I had seen the 'bay lynx' of Louisiana do some'dodges' as cunning as that,--such as claying his feet to make thehounds lose the scent, and, after running backwards and forwards upon afallen log, leap into the tops of trees, and get off in that way."
"Believing that his Northern cousin was just as artful as himself" (hereBasil looked significantly at the "Captain,") "I did not so much wonderat the performance I now witnessed. Nevertheless, I felt a greatcuriosity to see it out. But for this curiosity I could have shot thelynx every time he passed me on the nearer edge of the circle. Round andround he went, then, until he was not twenty feet from the hare, that,strange to say, seemed to regard this the worst of her enemies more withwonder than fear. The lynx at length stopped suddenly, brought his fourfeet close together, arched his back like an angry cat, and then withone immense bound, sprang forward upon his victim.
"The hare had only time to leap out of her form, and the second springof the lynx brought him right upon the top of her. I could hear thechild-like scream which the American rabbit always utters when thusseized; but the cloud of snow-spray raised above the spot prevented mefor a while from seeing either lynx or hare. The scream was stifled in amoment, and when the snow-spray cleared off, I saw that the lynx heldthe hare under his paws, and that 'puss' was quite dead.
"I was considering how I might best steal up within shooting distance,when, all at once, I heard another scream of a very different sort. Atthe same time a dark shadow passed over the snow. I looked up, andthere, within fifty yards of the ground, a great big bird was wheelingabout. I knew it to be an eagle from its shape; and at first I fanciedit was a young one of the white-headed kind--for, as you are aware,these do not have either the white head or tail until they are severalyears old. Its immense size, however, showed that it could not be one ofthese. It must be the great _'golden' eagle_ of the Rocky Mountains,thought I.
"When I first noticed it, I fancied that it had been after the rabbit;and, seeing the latter pounced upon by another preying creature, haduttered its scream at being thus disappointed of its prey. I expected,therefore, to see it fly off. To my astonishment it broke suddenly outof the circles in which it had been so gracefully wheeling, and, withanother scream wilder than before, darted down towards the lynx!
"The latter, on hearing the first cry of the eagle, had started, droppedhis prey, and looked up. In the eagle he evidently recognised anantagonist, for his back suddenly became arched, his fur bristled up,his short tail moved quickly from side to side, and he stood withglaring eyes, and claws ready to receive the attack.
"As the eagle came down, its legs and claws were thrown forward, and Icould then tell it was not a bald eagle, nor the great "Washingtoneagle," nor yet a fishing eagle of any sort, which both of these are.The fishing eagles, as Lucien had told me, _have always naked legs_,while those of the true eagles are more feathered. So were his, butbeyond the feathers I could see his great curved talons, as he struckforward at the lynx. He evidently touched and wounded the animal, butthe wound only served to make it more angry: and I could hear it purringand spitting like a tom-cat, only far louder.
"The eagle again mounted back into the air, but soon wheeled round andshot down a second time. This time the lynx sprang forward to meet it,and I could hear the concussion of their bodies as they came together. Ithink the eagle must have been crippled, so that it could not fly upagain, for the fight from that time was carried o
n upon the ground. Thelynx seemed anxious to grasp some part of his antagonist's body--and attimes I thought he had succeeded--but then he was beaten off again bythe bird, that fought furiously with wings, beak, and talons."
THE LYNX AND THE GOLDEN EAGLE.]
"The lynx now appeared to be the attacking party, as I saw himrepeatedly spring forward at the eagle, while the latter always receivedhim upon its claws, lying with its back upon the snow. Both fur andfeathers flew in every direction, and sometimes the combatants were socovered with the snow-spray that I could see neither of them.
"I watched the conflict for several minutes, until it occurred to me,that my best time to get near enough for a shot was just while they werein the thick of it, and not likely to heed me. I therefore movedsilently out of the bushes; and, keeping Marengo in the string, creptforward. I had but the one bullet to give them, and with that I couldnot shoot both; but I knew that the quadruped was eatable, and, as I wasnot sure about the bird, I very easily made choice, and shot the lynx.To my surprise the eagle did not fly off, and I now saw that one of itswings was disabled! He was still strong enough, however, to scratchMarengo severely before the latter could master him. As to the lynx, hehad been roughly handled. His skin was torn in several places, and oneof his eyes, as you see, regularly 'gouged out.'"
Here Basil ended his narration; and after an interval, during which somefresh wood was chopped and thrown upon the fire, Norman, in turn,commenced relating what had befallen him.